Missouri City elects first woman, black mayor

1of10In historic win, Yolanda Ford was elected as Missouri City's next mayor Saturday.
>>>See other candidates across the U.S. who made history this year ...Photo: Courtesy Yolanda Ford / Courtesy Yolanda Ford

2of10Candidates who made history in 2018Rashida Tlaib (D, Michigan) and Ilhan Omar (D, Minnesota)
First two Muslim women elected to Congress.Photo: Paul Sancya, Associated Press

Missouri City voters Saturday elected Yolanda Ford as their next mayor, the first woman and African American ever selected for the city's highest office.

Ford narrowly defeated incumbent Allen Owen, who has been Missouri City's mayor for nearly a quarter of a century. Ford captured about 52 percent of the vote to Owen's 48 percent in Saturday's run-off election.

"I am so proud that the residents of Missouri City have elected me as their mayor," Ford said in a statement. "After having served on the city council for the past five years, and as a lifelong resident, I am deeply invested in the well-being and growth of Missouri City, and I look forward to working with citizens, the city council and others toward its betterment."

Ford, an urban planning manager, will take the oath of office Dec. 17.

Also Saturday, Missouri City voters re-elected Chris Preston as at-large position 2 council member. He beat challenger Susan Soto by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin in a runoff election.

Ford has served as a Missouri City District A council member since 2013. A Missouri City native with a master's degree in architecture, she has 20 years of professional land and community development experience.

During the campaign, Ford said, "there's a need for a new vision and direction for our city." She said Missouri City's immediate needs are to increase revenue, repair infrastructure, address public safety and redevelop major corridors and added that "I want to implement a comprehensive plan that addresses our challenges, start to assume our utilities and improve the aesthetics of the major corridors."

Ford and Owen qualified for the runoff after a similarly tight Nov. 6 election. Ford received 35.6 percent of that vote and Owen, mayor since 1994, received 34.96 percent. Fred Taylor, the third candidate, received 29.39 percent.

Owen, who has lived in Missouri City for nearly four decades, served as a planning and zoning commissioner for five years and as a council member for eight years prior to becoming mayor. He is a retired bank executive.

Today is the deadline for nominations to fill the District A council member slot vacated by Ford. The appointee will serve until the next regular city election in November 2019.

Todd Ackerman is a veteran reporter who has covered medicine for the Houston Chronicle since 2001. A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, he previously worked for the Raleigh News & Observer, the National Catholic Register, the Los Angeles Downtown News and the San Clemente Sun-Post.